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jueves, 30 de noviembre de 2017

Traveling during the holidays is, by definition, no fun. If you caught a flight over Thanksgiving this year, you got lucky—everything ran more or less to plan. No freak winter storms, no striking baggage handlers, no collapsing computer systems. Expecting the Christmas travel rush to go just as …

A drone has helped bring superfast broadband services to an isolated Welsh village. Cable company Openreach used the drone to avoid having to lay cable across "challenging" terrain that included woods, a river and steep hills. The drone was flown across a section of forest near Pontfadog, Wrexham...

Will the government fulfil its manifesto promise that every home and business in the country will have high-speed broadband by 2020? The company that it will have to rely on to make that happen - Openreach - is warning it could risk missing the target unless the government decides soon how it wil...

Hunter Williams used to be an English teacher. Then, three years into that job, he started reading the book The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. The 1966 novel by Robert Heinlein takes place in the 2070s, on the moon, which, in this future, hosts a subterranean penal colony. Like all good sci-fi, the pl...

High Altitude Pseudo-Satellites, or HAPS, are platforms that float or fly at high altitude like conventional aircraft but operate more like satellites – except that rather than working from space they can remain in position inside the atmosphere for weeks or even months, offering continuous coverage of the territory below.

Rocket Lab will open a ten-day launch window from Friday December 8, 2017 NZDT to carry out the company’s second test launch of the Electron rocket. During this time a four-hour launch window will open daily from 2:30 p.m NZDT.

The test launch, titled ‘Still Testing’, will take place from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand. It follows on from the successful inaugural Electron test carried out on May 25, 2017.

Still Testing will be the first Rocket Lab launch to be live streamed to the public. A live video stream will be available approximately 12 minutes prior to a launch attempt at www.rocketlabusa.com

The test launch attempt will only proceed if conditions are ideal for launch. Due to the nature of launching rockets, planned lift-offs are often subject to multiple and subsequent postponements, or scrubs, to allow for small, technical modifications and to wait for ideal weather conditions.

Peter Beck, Founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, says the test is an important next step in making space accessible and the team will be focusing on gathering more data to inform future launches.

“Electron’s first test made history when it became the first orbital-class launch vehicle to reach space from a private launch facility. We analysed more than 25,000 channels of data from flight one, and we’re eager to learn more from this test flight. This is the first test carrying customer payloads and we’ll be monitoring everything closely as we attempt to reach orbit,” he says.

“Once again, we’re expecting to scrub multiple times as we wait for perfect conditions and make sure everything on the vehicle is performing as it should.”

Still Testing will carry an Earth-imaging Dove satellite for Planet and two Lemur-2 satellites for Spire for weather and ship tracking, enabling Rocket Lab to gather crucial data and test systems for the deployment stage of a mission.

Still Testing is the second of three test launches planned from Launch Complex 1 ahead of commercial operations, however if the vehicle performs nominally throughout the second test the commercial phase may be accelerated.

miércoles, 29 de noviembre de 2017

How an AI-guided drone works, and why it lost. In a California warehouse in October, quadrocopter drones zoomed and buzzed, racing through an obstacle course of black-and-white checkered arches. On one team: drones guided by software and AI, the work of a team from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laborator...

The simplest explanation is also the likeliest. It will be a glorious day when we finally get definitive proof of alien life. It's going to be absolutely amazing, whether we make contact with a species that rivals or exceeds us in intelligence or we accidentally squish an alien bug on a spaceship...

It's been just a few months since Lockheed Martin gave the US Army the most powerful laser weapon ever developed, a ground vehicle–mounted system that can burn through tanks and knock mortars out of the sky. Now the US Air Force wants its own toy, so Lockheed's engineers are back in the lab, …

For the first time, humans have detected an interstellar asteroid—a space rock they're calling 'Oumuamua, which is a Hawaiian word meaning "scout." It's the only object we've ever seen that entered the solar system from beyond our little collection of planets. That's a pretty big deal on its own. …

I can't sit here and promise you that the robot apocalypse isn't coming, that the machines won't eventually rise up and overthrow their makers. But what I can promise you is that not all of them will be able to punch you out. Because robots are going soft. Like, literally soft, controlled with …

“It’s not easy to go and build a next-generation stealth bomber, but all of the indicators suggest we’re successfully executing the program,” Walden says. “We’re focused on getting to the critical design review, and getting those drawings in place and starting to build this bomber.”

Tecnam U.S. announced today that on October 2nd, 2017 and November 20th, 2017 it completed the delivery of the first three (3) of an order for thirty (30) P2006T twin engine aircraft in its Special Mission Platform (SMP) configuration. The three aircraft now delivered are part of a 24-months contract to deliver 30 SMP aircraft to a geospatial data acquisition company modernizing its fleet to optimize operational costs and sensor availability. The company has options for an additional 24 P2006T SMP aircraft following the delivery of the first 30 aircraft commitment.

For this 30 aircraft contract the Tecnam SMP will be delivered with its standard, field proven, mission power system and dedicated hatch to accommodate multiple sensor packages, managed by Tecnam as Type Certification design changes.

The contract also provides for additional design services from Tecnam to optimize the installation for specific sensor packages under Tecnam’s design authority and experience.

“Given the age of existing sensor platforms, costs to operate them and changes in the requirements of the sensors themselves, the P2006T is the right platform at the right time for bringing geospatial data sensing up to date. We are proud that our Customer has chosen Tecnam to provide aircraft for their fleet expansion and look forward to the opportunity to evolve the data sensing platform paradigm”, said Paolo Pascale, CEO of Tecnam.
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Textron Aviation and FedEx leadership at signing ceremony (from left to right: David L. Cunningham, president and CEO, FedEx Express; David J. Bronczek, president and COO, FedEx Corp.; Scott Donnelly, chairman, president and CEO, Textron Inc.; Scott Ernest, president and CEO, Textron Aviation)

WICHITA, Kan. (Nov. 28, 2017) – Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, today announced its new twin-engine, high-wing, large-utility turboprop – the Cessna SkyCourier 408.
FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company and
longtime Textron Aviation customer, has signed on as the launch customer
for up to 100 aircraft, with an initial fleet order of 50 cargo
aircraft and options for 50 more. Entry into service for the clean-sheet
design Cessna SkyCourier is planned for 2020.

“With our
depth of expertise and proven success in new product development, we
were eager to work directly with a world-class company like FedEx
Express to jointly develop the Cessna SkyCourier,” said Scott Ernest,
president and CEO of Textron Aviation. “The aircraft will fulfill a gap
in this market segment with its superior performance and low operating
costs in combination with the cabin flexibility, payload capability and
efficiency only a clean-sheet design can offer.”

About the Cessna SkyCourier

Built for
high utilization operations, the Cessna SkyCourier 408 will be offered
in cargo and passenger variants. The cargo variant will feature a large
cargo door and a flat floor cabin that is sized to handle up to three
LD3 shipping containers with an impressive 6,000 pounds of maximum
payload capability. The aircraft will also afford a maximum cruise speed
of up to 200 ktas and a 900 nautical-mile maximum range.

The
efficient 19-passenger variant will include crew and passenger doors for
smooth boarding, as well as large cabin windows for great natural light
and views. Both configurations will offer single-point pressure
refueling to enable faster turnarounds.

The Cessna
Caravan platform has set the standard in the single-engine utility
category for decades. The Cessna SkyCourier will build on that proven
success in the large-utility category, offering even greater capability
and mission flexibility.

FedEx Express order

Textron
Aviation has built a strong relationship with FedEx Express, which has
utilized the Cessna Caravan platform in its feeder aircraft fleet for
over 30 years.

“FedEx
Express has had a great relationship with Textron Aviation over the
years, and this new, advanced aircraft will play a key role in our
feeder aircraft modernization strategy,” said David L. Cunningham,
president and CEO of FedEx Express. “The Cessna SkyCourier 408 offers a
number of significant features that will enhance our long-term feeder
strategy.”

Last month, a report from Canada indicated the possible collision of a drone with a jet approaching Quebec City’s International Airport. The incident reintroduced public concerns about air collisions between small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) and commercial aircraft and what it may mean to the safety of air travel.

Although the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is not yet able to definitively address these concerns, studies by a consortium of leading universities, through the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE), have begun to bring better understanding to the physical damage associated with small unmanned aircraft – or drones – colliding midair with commercial and business aircraft.

The ASSURE research team began its research in FY 2016, using unique resources from Mississippi State University, Montana State University, Ohio State University, and Wichita State University. This research team set out to answer the question of what happens when – not if – there is a collision between a sUAS and an airplane.

“While the effects of bird impacts on airplanes are well documented, little is known about the effects of more rigid and higher mass sUAS on aircraft structures and propulsion systems,” said Mississippi State University’s Marty Rogers, the Director of ASSURE. “The results of this work are critical to the safety of commercial air travel here in the United States and around the world.”

Today at 12:15 p.m. EST, at the FAA Federal Headquarters in Washington, D.C., the FAA, along with ASSURE members, announced their findings in The sUAS Air-to-Air Collision Severity Evaluation Final Report.

Researchers’ efforts began by first determining the most likely impact scenarios. This was done by reviewing operating environments for both sUAS and manned aircraft. The team then selected the commercial and business aircraft and sUAS based on these impact scenarios and their likely exposure to one another.

The commercial narrow-body air transport selected was characteristic of a Boeing B737 and an Airbus A320 aircraft, which represent 70% of the commercial aircraft fleet. The business jet model represented a Learjet 30/40/50. Similarly, the team selected a small quadcopter and a light fixed-winged unmanned aircraft as representative of the most-likely threats to manned aircraft.

Researchers determined the areas of manned aircraft most likely to be impacted as being the leading edges of wings, vertical and horizontal stabilizers, and windscreens.

ASSURE researchers also performed engine impact simulations on the fan section of an existing business-jet-sized, turbofan-engine model that the FAA previously used for fan blade-out testing. The FAA/ASSURE team conducted this research to better inform the scope of the next phase of research, as well as the critical variables essential to their continued research and engine ingest testing.

“Computer simulations, supported by material and component level testing, were conducted to determine the effects of sUAS impacts on manned aircraft,” said Gerardo Olivares, Ph.D., Director, Crash Dynamics and Computational Mechanics Laboratories at Wichita State University. “Conducting this study through full-scale physical tests would not have been possible from a cost and time perspective due to the immense complexity of the task. On the other hand, simulation enabled us to study over 180 impact scenarios in a twelve-month period. To ensure results accurately predict the actual physical behavior of collisions, we have spent a lot of time developing, verifying, and validating detailed models of manned and unmanned aircraft. Once the models are validated, we can use them in the future to investigate other impact scenarios.”

Researchers observed various levels of airframe and engine damage in all sUAS collision simulations. They confirmed that energy (projectile mass and velocity) and the stiffness of the sUAS are the primary drivers of impact damage. This research showed that the severity of the collision is also dependent on the design features of the sUAS and the dynamics of the impact.

Commercial aircraft manufacturers design aircraft structural components to withstand bird strikes from birds up to eight pounds for the empennage and four pounds for windscreen. ASSURE simulations show sUAS collisions inflict more physical damage than that of an equivalent size and speed bird-strike. sUAS components are much stiffer than birds, which are mostly composed of water. Therefore, bird-strike certification regulations are not appropriate for unmanned aircraft. Additionally, regulators do not require and manufacturers do not design commercial and business aircraft to withstand collisions from other aircraft.

The ASSURE research team also conducted both physical testing and simulation on sUAS lithium batteries. Typical high-speed impacts caused the complete destruction of the battery, therefore, in these cases, there was not an increased risk of fire due to a shorted battery. However, during some of the low-speed impacts, associated with landing and takeoff, the battery was not completely destroyed. In some of these simulations, the battery remained lodged in the airframe and there was potential for increased risk of battery fire.

The findings above show the importance of properly researching and regulating the use of sUAS in a crowed national airspace system. While design features can decrease the severity of a drone impact, sUAS pilots and the public must be aware of and abide by regulations for safe sUAS operations. It is critical that everything be done to keep these collisions from occurring through the safe separation of all aircraft, both manned and unmanned. The FAA will depend on the sUAS community to help develop the technology for proper detect-and-avoid so that these aircraft do not meet in flight.

This is the first in a series of research projects conducted to understand and quantify the potential severity of airborne collisions. Future studies will research the severity of collisions with general aviation (GA) aircraft, rotorcraft, and high-bypass turbofan engines representative of those found in airline fleets today. Because of the scope and magnitude of this research, and the impact it will have on industry and national airspace safety, the follow-on studies will be broken into multiple phases beginning this year and running through FY21.

NASA ground controllers have begun checking out and commissioning a shoebox-sized spacecraft that the agency purposely built to show that CubeSat platforms could be cost-effective, reliable, and capable of gathering highly robust science.

MIT engineers have developed a new desktop 3-D printer that performs up to 10 times faster than existing commercial counterparts. Whereas the most common printers may fabricate a few Lego-sized bricks in one hour, the new design can print similarly sized objects in just a few minutes.Continue reading https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/miot-n3p112817.php

Fast Desktop-Scale Extrusion Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Significant improvements to the throughput of additive manufacturing (AM) processes are essential to their cost-effectiveness and competitiveness with traditional processing routes. Moreover, high-throughput AM processes, in combination with the geometric versatility of AM, will enable entirely new workflows for product design and customization. We present the design and validation of a desktop-scale extrusion AM system that achieves a much greater build rate than benchmarked commercial systems. This system, which we call ‘FastFFF’, is motivated by our recent analysis of the rate-limiting mechanisms to conventional fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology. The FastFFF system mutually overcomes these limits, using a nut-feed extruder, laser-heated polymer liquefier, and servo-driven parallel gantry system to achieve high extrusion force, rapid filament heating, and fast gantry motion, respectively. The extrusion and heating mechanisms are contained in a compact printhead that receives a threaded filament and augments conduction heat transfer with a fiber-coupled diode laser. The prototype system achieves a volumetric build rate of 127 cm3/hr, which is approximately 7-fold greater than commercial desktop FFF systems, at comparable resolution; the maximum extrusion rate of the printhead is ∼14-fold greater (282 cm3/hr) than our benchmarks. The performance limits of the printhead and motion systems are characterized, and the tradeoffs between build rate and resolution are assessed and discussed. High-speed desktop AM raises the possibility of new use cases and business models for AM, where handheld parts are built in minutes rather than hours. Adaptation of this technology to print high-temperature thermoplastics and composite materials, which require high extrusion forces, is also of interest. Full Article http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214860416303220

Siemens and Airbus are convinced that aviation systems will change fundamentally over the next few years. And they intend to play a major role shaping the future of the industry. In April 2016 they agreed to a game-changing collaborative effort. By 2020 they want to prove the viability of hybrid-electric propulsion systems. Martin Nüsseler, project manager from Airbus, and his counterpart at Siemens, Joachim Zoll, discuss their goals and how they plan to work together.

Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens have formed a partnership which aims at developing a near-term flight demonstrator which will be a significant step forward in hybrid-electric propulsion for commercial aircraft.

The three companies together announced the groundbreaking
collaboration, bringing together some of the world’s foremost experts in
electrical and propulsion technologies, at the Royal Aeronautical
Society in London.

The E-Fan X hybrid-electric technology
demonstrator is anticipated to fly in 2020 following a comprehensive
ground test campaign, provisionally on a BAe 146 flying testbed, with
one of the aircraft’s four gas turbine engines replaced by a two
megawatt electric motor. Provisions will be made to replace a second
gas turbine with an electric motor once system maturity has been proven.

“The
E-Fan X is an important next step in our goal of making electric flight
a reality in the foreseeable future. The lessons we learned from a long
history of electric flight demonstrators, starting with the Cri-Cri,
including the e-Genius, E-Star, and culminating most recently with the
E-Fan 1.2, as well as the fruits of the E-Aircraft Systems House
collaboration with Siemens, will pave the way to a hybrid single-aisle
commercial aircraft that is safe, efficient, and cost-effective,” said
Paul Eremenko. “We see hybrid-electric propulsion as a compelling
technology for the future of aviation.”

The E-Fan X demonstrator
will explore the challenges of high-power propulsion systems, such as
thermal effects, electric thrust management, altitude and dynamic
effects on electric systems and electromagnetic compatibility issues.
The objective is to push and mature the technology, performance, safety
and reliability enabling quick progress on the hybrid electric
technology. The program also aims at establishing the requirements for
future certification of electrically powered aircraft while training a
new generation of designers and engineers to bring hybrid-electric
commercial aircraft one step closer to reality.

As part of the
E-Fan X program, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens will each contribute
with their extensive experience and know-how in their respective fields
of expertise:

Airbus will be responsible for overall integration
as well as the control architecture of the hybrid-electric propulsion
system and batteries, and its integration with flight controls.

Rolls-Royce will be responsible for the
turbo-shaft engine, two megawatt generator, and power electronics. Along
with Airbus, Rolls-Royce will also work on the fan adaptation to the
existing nacelle and the Siemens electric motor.

Siemens will deliver the two megawatt electric
motors and their power electronic control unit, as well as the inverter,
DC/DC converter, and power distribution system. This comes on top of
the E-Aircraft Systems House collaboration between Airbus and Siemens,
launched in 2016, which aims at development and maturation of various
electric propulsion system components and their terrestrial
demonstration across various power classes.

Paul Stein,
Rolls-Royce, Chief Technology Officer, said: “The E-Fan X enables us to
build on our wealth of electrical expertise to revolutionize flight and
welcome in the third generation of aviation. This is an exciting time
for us as this technological advancement will result in Rolls-Royce
creating the world’s most powerful flying generator.

“Siemens has
been driving innovation in core technology fields at full speed,” said
Roland Busch, Chief Technology Officer of Siemens. “In April 2016 we
opened a new chapter in electric-mobility with the collaboration with
Airbus. Building up electric propulsion for aircraft, we are creating
new perspectives for our company and also for our customers and society.
With the E-Fan X partnership, we now take the next step to demonstrate
the technology in the air.”

Among the top challenges for today’s
aviation sector is to move towards a means of transport with improved
environmental performance that is more efficient and less reliant on
fossil fuels. The partners are committed to meeting the EU technical
environmental goals of the European Commission’s Flightpath 2050 Vision
for Aviation (reduction of CO2 by 60%, reduction of NOx by
90% and noise reduction by 75%). These cannot be achieved with the
technologies existing today. Therefore, Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens
are investing in and focusing research work in different technology
areas including electrification. Electric and hybrid-electric propulsion
are seen today as among the most promising technologies for addressing
these challenges.

Rolls-Royce today celebrated the entry into service of its Trent 1000 TEN engine. The engine is designed to power all variants of the Dreamliner family, including the new 787-10. The engine incorporates new technologies to deliver increased thrust and improved efficiency for the aircraft.

Earlier this year the Trent 1000 engine celebrated a hat trick of firsts when it powered the first flight of the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner, having powered the first flights of the 787-8 and the 787-9. More recently the Trent 1000 TEN powered an 18-hour test flight during which a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner test flight drew a giant outline of the plane across the United States.

The Trent 1000 TEN is one of three Rolls-Royce engines to have achieved a first flight in the past 12 months.

Commenting on the milestone, Chris Young, Rolls-Royce, Director - Programmes, said: "We are very proud to see the Trent 1000 TEN enter into service on the 787 Dreamliner. The Trent 1000 TEN offers important improvements to our customers and we would like to congratulate those customers who will be operating it from today."
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In mid-November, Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) named after professor N.E. Zhukovsky (an affiliate of Research and Development Centre “Institute named after N.E. Zhukovsky”) completed another stage of static tests of a composite load-bearing wing box of MC-21-300 aircraft. The lead designer of the aircraft is Irkut Corporation.

The goal of the tests was to confirm the safety of implementation of aircraft flight tests on the terms of wing strength under impacts of maximum flight loads, defined for design by Irkut Corporation.

As a result of conducted tests, a wing box has withstood the load exceeding one determined by the tests program, without destruction. This is the experimental proof of sufficient strength of wing box under maximum flight loads of MC-21 aircraft with parameters accepted for flight tests.
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Spain’s first radar satellite will be shipped next month to Vandenberg/USA ready for launch on 30 January 2018

Madrid, 22/11/2017 – The high resolution radar, Earth observation PAZ satellite, intended primarily to address civilian surveillance needs and to cover many different applications including defence and security, will say its final goodbye to Spain. It will be shipped in December 2017 to its launch site in Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA.

Airbus and Hisdesat, the Spanish operator of governmental satellites announce that the launch of the PAZ satellite will take place in the last week of January. Since completion in 2015, Airbus has maintained the satellite in its Barajas cleanrooms, in Madrid, ready to be launched at short notice. “We had to be ready at all times as we could have got a green light at any moment,” said José Guillamón, head of Airbus Space Systems in Spain. Close cooperation between Airbus as the prime contractor and Hisdesat as the owner and operator of the satellite has been a key factor in successfully reaching the final stages.

The PAZ satellite is equipped with an advanced radar instrument designed for high flexibility, and the capability to operate in numerous modes allowing for the choice of several different image configurations. It will be able to generate images with up to 25 cm resolution, day and night and regardless of the meteorological conditions. Designed for a mission of five and a half years, PAZ will orbit Earth 15 times per day, covering an area of over 300,000 square kilometres from an altitude of 514 kilometres and a velocity of seven kilometres per second. On its slightly inclined quasi-polar orbit, PAZ will cover the entire globe in 24 hours, serving both government and commercial needs.

PAZ also features a sophisticated Automatic Identification System (AIS), simultaneously combining for the first time ship AIS signals and SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) imagery, increasing the monitoring capacities of the maritime domain worldwide. It will also be equipped with a Radio Occultation and Heavy Precipitation experiment (ROHP) from the Institute of Space Science del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ICE-CSIC). For the first time ever, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) Radio Occultation measurements will be taken at two polarizations, to exploit the potential capabilities of polarimetric radio occultation for detecting and quantifying heavy precipitation events.

Airbus in Spain, as prime contractor of the programme, led a team of 18 European companies. The Spanish space industry was heavily involved in the development of the advanced active sensor with SAR technology. Since the start of the programme, the PAZ satellite has been generating significant benefits for the Spanish space companies involved, allowing them to develop new capabilities to further enhance their competitiveness in the global space market. “The PAZ programme is already a success story for Spain’s industrial development, said Miguel Ángel Panduro, Head of Hisdesat. “It has created hundreds of skilled jobs over the years, and stimulated research, development and innovation activities in Spain.”

Once in space, PAZ will share the same orbit as the TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X radar satellites. They will be operated as a very high-resolution SAR satellite constellation. The addition of this third satellite will reduce revisit time and increase acquisition capacity, leading to subsequent benefits for various applications. All three satellites feature identical ground swaths and acquisition modes. The new setup will be jointly exploited by Hisdesat and Airbus.

The SAR constellation will expand Airbus’ already broad constellation services also comprising the optical satellites SPOT 6/7, Pléiades 1A & 1B and the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC). PAZ, the first Spanish Earth observation satellite, will also be a contributor to Copernicus, the European Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme.
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Brings broad international experience in aerospace industry and deep understanding of airline operations

Airbus bids farewell to legendary aircraft salesman John Leahy; more than 16,000 aircraft sold under his leadership in nearly 33 years of service

Leahy to stay on for short transition period

Amsterdam, 28 November 2017 – Airbus (stock exchange symbol: AIR) has appointed Eric Schulz, 54, EVP, Chief of Sales, Marketing & Contracts for the company’s Commercial Aircraft business. In this function, he will join Airbus at the end of January 2018 and will report to Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders.

Schulz comes from Rolls-Royce where he has been serving as President – Civil Aerospace since January 2016. At Airbus, he will succeed John Leahy, 67, who has been at the helm of the Commercial Aircraft’s Sales organisation since 1994.

“We are glad to have Eric Schulz joining our team. He has broad international experience in the aerospace industry, a deep understanding of airline operations and aero engines as well as a proven track record in building and effectively leading organisations in complex environments. This combination of skills and experience makes Eric the right pick to succeed John Leahy at a critical juncture of our company’s development,” said Tom Enders.

Eric Schulz started his career in 1986 with Aerospatiale-Sogerma and has since held numerous senior management positions in companies like UTA, Air France, AOM, Air Liberté-British Airways, Goodrich, EADS and Rolls-Royce. He holds a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Geneva Engineering School and in Aeronautical Engineering from Paris’ ESTA Engineering and Technology School.

Affectionately known to airlines around the world as “Mr. Airbus”, John Leahy joined the company in 1985 from Piper Aircraft in the U.S. and will retire after 33 years of service. With more than 16,000 aircraft sold under his leadership, which accounts for 90 percent of all Airbus aircraft ever sold, John Leahy is truly a living legend in the history of aviation.

“There are not enough words to express the gratitude I feel for John Leahy both on a professional and personal level. His contribution to Airbus’ commercial aircraft business is epic. His relentless efforts, his vision and his dedication were key factors in propelling the company from an industry underdog to a world leader. No matter how hard the challenge I have never seen John give up on anything,” said Enders. “His tremendous fighting spirit and his unwavering loyalty to the Airbus flag have made him an inspiration for many, including me. He has become a good personal friend and I wish him a restful and well-deserved retirement.”

John Leahy will remain with Airbus for a few months’ transition period with his successor.
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